Product Review

Although Honda was the winner of the Manufacturers’ 500cc World Championship in 1966, its fast but flawed, ill-handling RC181 four-cylinder racer that is the subject of this issue of The Motorcycle Files never succeeded in winning the coveted individual crown for a Honda rider.
The Motorcycle Files is a series of short but hugely-informative e-books that present you with a unique opportunity to build your own library of the histories of some of the world’s rarest motorcycles.
Journalist and former racer, Alan Cathcart, has been testing road and racing motorcycles all over the world for twenty years and this, allied to a successful racing career, has earned him the respect of all of the major motorcycle manufacturers, museums and private owners of priceless two-wheeled rarities.
As a result these histories also include exclusive road and track tests that give a true indication of what it feels like to actually ride one of these rare gems. In many cases the machines that Alan has tested for The Motorcycle Files are the only existing example in the world. And his unique combination of riding ability and journalistic skills means that manufacturers are willing to open the doors to their factory team race shops to him and then allow him to test on the race track the machines that are usually restricted to World Championship Grand Prix and Superbike racers.
The Motorcycle Files, therefore, are the only publications that can offer you the chance to build up your own library of information on some of the rarest machines on the planet. Each file includes the track or road test, plus technical information and the historical background of the featured machines.
Added to that, The Motorcycle Files has utilized the skills of some of the best motorcycle photographers in the world to provide unrivalled action and technical images. No other series can strip the fairings from the racing machines and allow you a close-up look at the engines and other technical details usually seen only by the race team engineers.
The initial releases in The Motorcycle Files series will focus upon a selection of the most famous racing machines of the past, focussing on machines that competed in the six decades from the nineteen-twenties to the ‘eighties. Future releases will feature more classicracers and road machines as well as recent contenders for MotoGP and World Superbike Championship honours.